An analysis of Siyasa Shar'iyya and its application in Malaysia

Abstract

Siyasa Shar'iyya or shari'a-oriented policy is generally seen as an instrument of flexibility and pragmatism and it is designed to serve the cause of justice and good government especially when the rules of shari'a fall short of addressing a certain situation or development. As the term suggests the policy measures that are taken in the name of Siyasa Shari'yya must be shari'a ??? compliant as the purpose is generally to facilitate rather than circumvent the implementation of shari'a. rules of procedure, policy decisions, legislative and administrative measures that are laid down and taken for the purpose would thus fall within the ambit of Siyasa Shar'iyya. Although some commentators have attempted to confine Siyasa Shar'iyya to administrative measures while others have singled out criminal procedure and punishment as the main area of its application, our analysis shows that it is not confined to either. There is also a view that siyasa only applies outside the substantive shari'a wheres according to an opposite view shari'a and siyasa go hand and that shari'a is deficient without siyasa. I shall elaborate some of these views in the following pages and advocate the hypothesis that no unnecessary restrictions should be imposed on the scope and subject matter Siyasa Shar'iyya. The first part of this essay explores the basic idea of Siyasa Shar'iyya by drawing on selection of opinion of those who have contributed to this theme, including Ibn Taymiyya and, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Ibn Farhun, and more recently Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf and Ali Jad al-haq among others, while the second part address the application of siyasa shari'yya in Malaysia.